MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels (6-9, 0-3) once again fought hard to keep things tight with the Waves of Pepperdine (7-6, 3-0), but eventually fell in three sets to kick off WCC play inside UCU Pavilion (23-25, 21-25, 18-25). Saint Mary's put together one of their best offensive showings of the year, averaging 14 kills per set in this one, but it was not enough to slow down the stellar defense of the Waves both at the net and in the back row. 

A PAIR OF DOUBLE DIGITS x2
On the offensive front, Genevieve Bane and Hannah Taylor each reached the double digit kills mark, with 12 and 10 respectively. It was the first time in nearly two weeks for either of these players to reach double digit kills, and the first time since the Gaels 9/16 tilt with Washington that they had two players reach double figure kills in the same match. On the defensive side of things, both Makenna Joyce and Ella Sandt reached double digit digs, with 14 and 10 respectively. Joyce has now reached double digit digs in 14 straight contests, continuing to build on her career long streak. Sandt's 10 digs went along with 35 assists for her sixth double-double of the season and the 25th of her illustrious Gael career. Just shy of double-digits on the kills front was Kjersti Strong, who finished with nine, while Genevieve Bane came up just short on the dig front with nine. 

FOUR ACES IN HER HAND
The Gaels recorded service aces in this contest, all belonging to Kjersti Strong. The senior middle blocker has demonstrated a strong ability attacking and blocking, and now has shown her elite ability behind the service line as well. The four aces were a new career high for Strong, who now ranks fifth on the team with 13 for the year. 

ERRORLESS ERLAND (AGAIN!)
An impressive trend seen all season long by Gaels fans has been Kristen Erland's ability to land a majority of her attacks in play. The junior middle blocker came up with another unblemished performance, hitting at 0.400 for the evening. Her season attack percentage is now up to 0.378, which is a full 0.017 points better than Jennifer Laird's 2021 season, the previous program record. 

UP NEXT
The Gaels will enjoy a week-long break before returning to action on the road at San Francisco on October 5. First serve is set for 7 PM in that one. 

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